Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Beginning March 1, Lexis Nexis users will discover a whole new research experience. The new platform is called Nexis Uni and seeks to be a more user friendly resource. In many respects, it succeeds. In other areas, it takes some inside knowledge to navigate.

The first thing you'll notice is a giant search box at the top of the page. Simply searching here with nothing else defined will search the entire content, and return results from news, legal and business sources. To narrow the results, click the red down-arrow next to the words "All Nexis Uni" on the right edge of the search box, and select the specific area(s) you would like to search from the Category listing. Click the Advanced Search link below the search box to enter a very specific search.

Other options for beginning a search reside below the search box. For example, clicking Casesopens up further prompts to help locate a specific case.

Another search option sits just below this, under the heading Discover Topics. To locate a company dossier, for example, click Business under Discover Topics. Then click the Company Dossier link.

Enter the company's Ticker Number (not business name) to find the Snapshot you are familiar with. (This is what we mean by "need some inside knowledge!")

Watch this brief video to learn more about searching the new Nexis Uni platform.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

History majors, take note! We are excited to share our newest resource.

And by "history" we also mean Art, Religion, Sociology and Political historians as well!

Our major database provider, EBSCO, is partnering with American Antiquarian Society (AAS), the premier library documenting the life of America's people from the Colonial Era through the Civil War and Reconstruction, to provide digital access to the most comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1912.

The collection is divided into five parts:

Series 1 contains more than 500 titles dating from 1684 through 1820.

Series 2 is a collection of periodicals from 1821 to 1837 and represents the Jacksonian Democracy era in history and is broad in scope including agriculture, entertainment, history, literary criticism, and politics.

Series 3 covers the time period from 1838 to 1852.

Series 4 rages from 1853 to 1865 focuses on the Civil War and a diverse record of the continuance of daily life for many Americans—both leading up to and during the war.

Series 5, from 1866 to 1912, reflects a nation that persevered through a difficult set of circumstances and provides overage of broad subject areas that reach into every facet of American life.

Thursday, November 30, 2017

In some cases, a social media post can be considered a primary source, for example if the president of the United States tweets his plans to push for a new policy. Taking this tweet in context -- as you would a remark given in a speech -- by looking at subsequent remarks and then the resulting policy decisions that may have been influenced, can help build or support a case for whatever thesis you are defending.

The APA blog has a “social media” category tag, so that a click on that tag retrieves them all. Feast your eyes!

The best source for MLA citation rules right now is the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL). Scroll to the bottom of their MLA guide to citing electronic sources to see examples of citing Twitter and Youtube.

Artist, A. A. (Credit), & Artist, B.
B. (Credit). (Year of copyright, Date of recording). Title of episode. Title
of Program: Subtitle [format]. Place of recording: Publisher. (Year of
recording if different from year of copyright). Retrieved from internet
address

Editor, screen name,
author, or compiler name (if available). “Posting Title.” Name of Site,
Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated
with the site (sponsor or publisher), URL. Date of access.

Friday, September 01, 2017

It’s the most common question we get, and as librarians, that’s kind of depressing! We have featured this question (and it's answer) on our FAQ page, and here is a recap with a more thorough explanation.

There are many reasons this error occurs, but far and away the most common is that your browser's cache and cookies haven’t been cleared recently. Security certificates are changed often to make things secure!

Your cache “remembers” the places you have visited so that returning to that site again is as quick as a click. Unfortunately, when security information in the cache is out of date, this inability to connect is the result. Clear the cache and your problem will likely be solved.

If you don’t know how -- and don’t have time to learn how -- to clear your cache, use a browser you haven’t used before OR use “incognito” mode on your favorite browser.

Learning to use incognito mode is useful at other times as well. If you don’t know how, here are instructions for virtually every device and browser out there.

Friday, August 25, 2017

Welcome! (And for some, welcome back. We missed you!) Hopefully, summertime was fun and relaxing, and you are ready and eager to begin the Fall 2017 semester.

Whether your college journey seems exciting or intimidating, there is no doubt that it will at times be challenging, and we want to help! Stop by the library for the first time and introduce yourself, have a look around, try out your login credentials in the library’s computer lab and get a library barcode for your student ID.

As a new OR returning student, be sure to have a look at our website. We’ve made a few cosmetic changes that we hope will make research faster and more easily accessible.

We also want to show off some new resources, and be sure you know some shortcuts to the most popular research tools we have to offer. Read on!

The search box is more visible.

It's now at the top of the home page. The search box that finds research material found in nearly all of Logue Library’s subscriptions is also available on all of the subject guides, and is a great way to get started with researching a topic. Just type your topic in the search box and hit “Enter” or click Search.

Above the list of Subject Guides, click the DATABASES link.

This is an A-Z Database index with links to subscriptions and freely available full text resources that are appropriate for academic research.

Look in the left column to see what’s new and what is popular. Then, “Sort by Subject” (image below) to see which databases are recommended for the classwork you are completing, a list of subject guides to consult, and contact information for the librarians.

The Logue Library website is your toolbox for doing research and completing writing projects for your classes. In addition to our book catalog, there are links to eBooks, journal articles and much more, as well as research guides by subject, and guides for assignments in specific courses. And don’t forget to ask a librarian whenever you get lost and need directions. Check this space weekly for more tips and tricks from the librarians!

Which is why we really should address the recurring drama that is, "I can't open my flash drive," or, "I lost my flash drive," followed by, "All of my research is on it. It is very important that I find it/fix it!"

It is always heartbreaking to have to tell a student that it's all gone. Gone. It is even more heartbreaking to know that this did not have to happen. All our academic lives, we are told to save our work as we go, in case something happens to the file or the computer freezes as we write that last paragraph. But save it where?

Rather than rely on computers and flash drives and (heaven forbid) phones to faithfully store hours, weeks, even months of work, we humbly recommend these alternatives, in order of their reliability, convenience and cost :

Google Drive - As you work, your document is auto-saved. If your computer freezes up, or completely dies, gets stolen, or if the dog eats it, your work will be there when you log in from another device, including the freely available public access computers in the library. When you are finished, you can export it to MS Word or as a PDF, making compatibility issues nil.

If you prefer a flash drive for more than temporary storage, even after reading about Google Drive, email the work to yourself, too. Even though you will have to do this every time you do further work on the project, at least you'll have your latest email if your flash drive gets crushed by the heel of the person walking behind you when you accidentally drop it. And since the email messages are dated, you'll know which one has the most recent save.

If you insist on using a flash drive, use two. Save your work periodically to a second flash drive that is safely stored someplace reliable and that you will never carry out into a snow storm.

Speaking of a snow storm, here's a time lapse of the ONE we got this winter, taken from Logue Library. Enjoy. It's your reward for reading all the way to the end.